The Hearts Of Girls
by MissMoony7575
Summary: Artemis Fowl has never known so many girls before. Roxanne's a popular girl who's also a musical genius. Ismene is a CEO's daughter and has an IQ close to that of Artemis. And of course there's the one and only Holly Short. AFxOC, AFxHS, and even OCxOC.
1. Enter Ismene

Artemis Fowl was a genius. A child prodigy, exceptionally gifted, a mastermind, whatever you wish to call him. He had written many medical articles under pseudonyms, faked masterpieces and even discovered the fairy community. Some say he could do anything. However, he never quite learned to work out the hearts of girls.

x.x.x

It was a month after he had returned from Hybras, and Artemis Fowl's life was beginning to look hopelessly boring once more.

'Artemis!' called his mother, Angeline Fowl. Artemis sighed and followed the call of her voice.

'What is it, mother?' he asked.

'Tomorrow we are going to have guests,' she told a rather irritated Artemis.

'Yes, mother,' he said, turning to leave. He had work to do… and he didn't really need to know that guests were coming over. His parents always had guests over - Artemis simply stayed in his room. Occasionally he would have to put the twins to sleep, but he never really was involved with the visitors.

'I want you to be at dinner with us,' said Angeline.

'Whatever for?' asked Artemis. 'You know I don't like acquainting myself with guests.'

'Your father and I decided it would be good for you to socialise a little.'

'I don't particularly wish to _socialise_,' said Artemis.

'It's not a matter of whether you want to or not,' said Angeline, in a firmer tone. 'You are going to, young man. The CEO of the mining company Ashford mining is visiting - and he has a daughter around your age. They are going to be staying here for a few months.

Artemis never used an exclamation mark and a question mark in the same sentence, but he decided now was one of the best times to do so if he wanted to.

'Why must they stay here?' he asked.

'They need a _secure_ location,' said Angeline, 'and the hotels in Ireland are horrible, as you very well know.'

'There are many other secure locations,' said Artemis.

Angeline gave him a disapproving look.

'Your father is also trying to strike a deal with him, and he believes it will be better to be very hospitable to the man. They are staying here,' said Angeline, with a firm tone.

Artemis' little twin sisters chose the tense moment to come running in.

'Arty!' said Eve, hugging him around the knees. Zoe did the same around his other leg. Artemis sighed deeply.

The twins only reached up to his knees, and though at times were very cute, they could also be very annoying.

'I expect you at dinner,' said Angeline, walking away. Artemis sighed again. It wasn't that he wasn't happy to see his family again after his absence after saving the eighth family of fairies, the demons, but life was becoming rather boring once again. He found he was quite addicted to excitement and adventure.

'Daddy said he had some chocolate for you,' he told the twins. They looked up at him with cute, round eyes as their faces broke into smiles.

'Yay!' said Zoe, running off, Eve following after.

Artemis sighed. Before the twins came along, he would not have been caught dead saying 'daddy'. Now, it was almost routine.

He walked back up to his room, closing the door.

He stuck out his finger and thumb, twisted his ring and began to talk into his little finger.

'Hey Holly,' he said.

'Hey Artemis!' came Holly's reply. 'How've you been?' she asked.

'Good,' said Artemis. 'You?' he asked, reprimanding himself inside. The word you by itself was not, by definition, a sentence. Had he lost half his brains in the time tunnel?

'I'm good,' she replied. 'Any reason for the call, or did you just want to say hi?'

'Do I need a reason to talk to an old friend?' he asked, chuckling slightly.

'No,' said Holly. 'You'll never guess what Mulch did this time…' said Holly, and with that they plunged into over an hour of pleasant conversation.

x.x.x

Artemis put on his favourite Armani suit, and wore a striking blue tie - one that matched the colour of his eyes. He had bought a blue contact lens to disguise the hazel eye he had obtained from Holly in the tunnel.

He took one last look in the mirror then wondered why he cared about his appearance so much. He didn't even want to go to dinner, did he?

But then he remembered his mother's words.

…_he has a daughter around your age._

Artemis cursed puberty. It was getting worse by the day. He could hardly even talk to Holly properly.

He walked downstairs and sat in the living room, waiting for the guests to arrive. Artemis Fowl I and Angeline were doing the same.

'You _do_ look handsome,' said Angeline, smiling and pinching one of Artemis' cheeks.

'Mother, please,' said Artemis.

The doorbell rang and they were greeted by 3 people at the door. There was a man in his mid-fifties, rather overweight with a wobbling belly that was encased in a suit. There was a woman in her late forties wearing a red skirt and white shirt. Artemis had to commend her on her choice of clothing; the shirt was nicely tailored and the skirt looked designer.

The last person was a girl of around 14 years old, wearing a little black dress. She had long red hair, bottle green eyes and pretty features.

Artemis sighed. He hated puberty.

'Why good evening, Mr Ashford,' said Artemis Fowl I, shaking the hand of the man.

'Good evening Mr Fowl,' said Mr Ashford. 'Thank you for your hospitality.'

'It's my pleasure,' said Artemis Fowl I. 'Do come in.'

The three of them followed the Fowl family in.

'Do sit down,' said Artemis Fowl I, motioning for his guests to sit first.

They did so, Mr Fowl sitting at one end of the table and Mr Ashford at the other. Angeline Fowl sat next to the woman who was presumably Mrs Ashford, leaving Artemis to sit next to the girl.

'Artemis Fowl,' he said, holding his hand out to the girl.

'Ismene Ashford,' she said, shaking his hand and smiling at him. He suddenly felt nervous and excited at the same time.

_Ismene,_ he thought, at first. _Comes from the Greek word for knowledge. _And then - _For goodness' sake!_

'You're name is the same as your father's?' she asked. Artemis nodded.

'Rather cliché, I know,' he said.

'Contrarily, not many sons have the same name as their fathers. Seeing as 60 of baby names are chosen by the mothers of children,' she said.

'Ah,' said Artemis, nodding.

'Ireland is quite a country,' said Ismene.

'I'm glad you think so,' said Artemis. 'What do you like about it?'

'The air is cleaner - everything seems to be. In America, everything is modern and technological, and yet, so much dirtier and cluttered. Here, everything seems pristine,' she said.

'That's an accurate observation,' said Artemis. 'I must say that I don't personally like America myself.'

'You've been to America?' she asked.

'Briefly,' he said. _To save the fairy world from being overturned by a megalomaniac_, he finished in his head.

There was silence for a few seconds.

'I love that painting,' she said, pointing to one of Artemis' favourite works of Impressionist art.

'It is a beautiful work, isn't it?' he asked.

'Monet was a genius,' she said. 'His paintings were so full of life.'

'And they conveyed so much so concisely,' said Artemis.

'You are a fan of Impressionist art?' she asked him.

'Yes. As are you, I presume?' he asked.

She nodded excitedly. 'I've never met someone my age that enjoys Impressionist art before,' she said. 'And the adults that do think I'm just a child and can't understand the art.'

Artemis nodded. He had a feeling he was going to be good friends with this girl. And Artemis Fowl is almost always right. Almost always.


	2. Enter Roxanne

Roxanne was everything a girl wanted to be. She was pretty, popular, got relatively good marks, had a hot boyfriend, sporty and loved by just about everyone.

One thing they never knew was that she was a musical genius.

Roxanne attended St Bartleby's College - her parents were quite wealthy. She had also gotten a half-scholarship - but no one knew, of course. She didn't want people to know she was quite capable of getting straight A's. Instead she faked the fact that she was dumb - a one-way ticket into the popular group.

One would ask why Roxanne wanted to hide her talents. Surely someone with musical prowess and half a brain would want it to be known throughout the school?

Not particularly. Having even half a brain was frowned upon both by the teachers and by the students. The teachers because they weren't all too smart themselves and would be mortified if a student was smarter than them and the students because nerds or smart people in general were treated as freaks.

Today, there were whispers of a certain Artemis Fowl.

'You know that Artemis kid?'

'The one that was gone for a year?'

'The stuck-up genius kid?'

'He's a _loner_.'

'He's weird.'

'They say he's coming back.'

Roxanne had never heard of Artemis Fowl before. She had only been at St Bartleby's for 6 months.

Her friend Emma tapped her on the shoulder. Roxanne turned around.

'Yeah?' she asked.

'Look at that guy,' said Emma, pointing to Roxanne's right.

Roxanne looked in his direction. She saw a relatively handsome boy with dark hair and bright blue eyes. His lips were set in a straight line, with a slight look amusement on his face. He was on the skinny side, but had broad shoulders and was quite tall.

The boy looked in Roxanne's direction. She smiled at him; his look of amusement grew. Roxanne turned back to Emma.

She was still looking at the boy.

'He's pretty hot,' said Jane, looking in the boy's direction.

'Emma, Jane, you're not serious!' said Phoebe, one of Roxanne's other friends. 'You've got boyfriends.'

'Yeah - but!' Emma said.

'What are we saying about boyfriends?' said a deep voice, and Roxanne felt hands on her shoulders.

'Hi Jake,' said Roxanne. The boy looked briefly at her, then turned away and continued reading.

'Hi honey,' said Jake. Roxanne hit him on the arm playfully.

'I told you not to call me that,' she said.

'I'll call you whatever I want,' he said. She turned around to argue but as soon as she met his blue eyes she forgot all about it.

'You hear that Artemis Fowl kid is back?' asked Jake. Roxanne nodded.

'He seems to be quite the topic of interest at the moment,' said Roxanne.

'He's some sort of genius kid. Last time I saw he was an absurdly pale, scrawny little boy,' said Jake. 'But always skipping.'

'Weird crowd we get here,' said Roxanne.

The bell rang.

'See you later, sweetie,' said Jake, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Roxanne blushed and walked away.

x.x.x

Roxanne sat next to Emma.

'He's in our class!' her friend exclaimed.

'Jake's better looking,' said Roxanne.

'What are you talking about? Jon is hotter than all of the guys in this school,' said Jane.

Phoebe shook her head.

'You're in such a sweet illusion,' said Phoebe. 'Jon is not _actually_ hot, if you stop looking at him through rose-coloured glasses,' she said.

'I'm not wearing rose coloured glasses. Ew!' said Jane.

Phoebe and Roxanne shook their heads.

'I swear sometimes I think we're the only ones with brains in this group…' said Phoebe, to Roxanne. Roxanne laughed.

'I don't see the Artemis Fowl guy that's meant to be in our class,' said Roxanne.

'Yeah, I know,' said Phoebe.

'Who cares about Artemis Fowl when there's a hottie on the loose?' asked Emma.

'Emma, you are _crazy_,' said Roxanne, shaking her head.

The teacher came in and called out the roll.

'…Roxanne Fawkson?'

'Here,' replied Roxanne.

'Artemis Fowl?'

There seemed to be an extra long silence as everyone looked around. Roxanne suspected the Artemis person was just keeping everyone hanging for a few seconds.

'Here,' said the boy with the dark hair and striking blue eyes.


	3. Psychological Case

The class erupted into conversation.

'I didn't realise I was so sorely missed,' said Artemis quietly.

'He's - ARTEMIS FOWL?!' exclaimed Emma and Jane.

'Guess so,' said Phoebe.

'He was so _scrawny_ before… what happened?' asked Jane.

'You tell me,' asked Emma. 'Not that I'm complaining.'

'Emma, you are a disgrace!' said Roxanne. 'Lusting after some genius boy.'

'I can't help it,' argued her friend.

Roxanne shook her head and sighed.

'Class! Please!' said the teacher, Ms Gray, the noise dying down slightly but whispers of Artemis Fowl still hung in the air.

'Artemis, would you care to explain to the class why you have been away for so long? It seems as if they're dying to know,' said Ms Gray.

'I don't care to explain it to them,' said Artemis.

'I didn't ask whether you wanted to,' said Ms Gray.

'But in fact you did,' said Artemis. 'You said 'would you care to explain…'. The only logical answer to that question is whether or whether or not I want to explain to the class. I have just stated that I do not wish to tell them why I have been away,' said Artemis.

'You still like him?' said Roxanne, to Emma.

'I didn't understand _half _the words in those sentences,' said Emma.

'Glad to see you know what a sentence is,' said Phoebe sarcastically.

'Shut up!' said Emma, hitting her on the shoulder.

Ms Gray sighed.

'The counsellor has told me about you, Artemis Fowl,' said Ms Gray.

'I'm glad he did,' said Artemis. 'You'll know that I know every answer to whatever you care to ask.'

The teacher looked angry.

'Look, Artemis Fowl. I don't care how smart you think you are, or if people say you're a genius, while you're in my class you shall do what I say!'

'Shall I now? And what is the obligation behind it?' he asked.

She decided ignoring the genius was the best option.

'There is a music assignment you will have to complete,' she said. 'I want you to get into pairs-'

As soon as she said this girls linked their arms with their friends and boys moved slightly closer to their friends.

'No, we shall be pairing you up in _alphabetical order_.'

There was a groan from the class as everyone tried to figure out who they were with.

'You can thank Artemis Fowl here for annoying me substantially to pass it on to you,' said Ms Gray. There were many glares sent in his direction - not that he cared.

Ms Gray started to read out who was with whom. A few people were paired up with their friends; this was followed by squeals of delight for girls and hi-fiving for boys, but others were not so lucky - being paired up with total strangers or their enemies.

Roxanne waited to see who she was being paired up with.

'Roxanne Fawkson?' asked Ms Gray.

'Yeah?' she answered.

'You're with Artemis Fowl.'

x.x.x

'Lucky!' said Emma.

'Not so lucky!' said Roxanne. 'He's a _genius_. I don't know him. I have _no idea_ what he's like. He seems awfully reserved and not someone I'm going to get along with.'

Boy, was she wrong about the latter part of that sentence.

'The music assignment will require you to work with your partner to compose and perform a duet for two instruments,' said Ms Gray. Emma put her hand up.

'Yes, Emma, we all know you can't sing and can't play an instrument to save your life. Not my problem. It's your partner's,' said Ms Gray. Emma glared at her.

'I expect the composition to be fully rehearsed and ready to be performed in two weeks time. You will not get class time to work on the project. You must make your own time. Go to each other's houses and practise. Whatever you schoolkids do.'

'But Miss!' said Phoebe. 'I'm with a _guy_!'

'Deal with it,' said Ms Gray. 'You can have 10 minutes to arrange with your partner what you are going to do. Now you have 9 minutes and 50 seconds.'

The class sighed and got into their pairs.

'Umm…' said Roxanne, not quite sure what to say.

'I can do this project on my own,' said Artemis.

'No, I'll help,' said Roxanne. Artemis was quite surprised. He expected her to take up the offer quickly and go back to chatting with her friends rather than spending time helping him. Then again, he had written an article once about how different people become when removed from their friends - especially the ones that spend the most time with their friends. This girl seemed like quite an interesting case.

'Where shall we meet?' asked Artemis.

'Well, I board at school, and my house is around 400 km away…' said Roxanne.

'Then we shall work at my house?' asked Artemis.

'Guess so,' said Roxanne.

Artemis didn't quite know what to say next. Due to his limited understanding of social situations. He should have said something along the lines of - 'well are you free this Saturday?', but in his mind, it sounded far too much like a date.

Roxanne waited for the question, eventually realising she would have to ask it herself.

'Are you free this Saturday?' she asked him.

Artemis nodded.

'Well, then, I'll come at, let's say, 10?' she asked.

'That's a good time,' said Artemis.

'Can I get your address?' asked Roxanne.

Artemis paused. He didn't want to give out the address of Fowl Manor.

'How about I come to school and pick you up?' he asked.

'Alright,' said Roxanne, shrugging. 'I don't mind.'

'I'll be waiting,' said Artemis.

He would actually. He thought this assignment would be a lot more interesting than the others he had done countless times before at school. Roxanne seemed like quite an interesting psychological case. With her friends she was headstrong, outspoken and looked like she thought she was queen of the world. Without her friends, however, she was a different person altogether.

'Umm, ok. See you then,' said Roxanne, walking back to her friends.

'What's he like?' asked Emma.

'He's odd,' said Roxanne truthfully. 'Not as bad as I thought, though.'

'I'm stuck with Jim,' said Phoebe, groaning. The rest laughed.

In her heart, Roxanne knew she shouldn't have been laughing. Jim was a boy in their class considered an outcast or a loner, simply because his family was not very rich and he only had one pair of pants and one shirt. He had only managed to get into St Bartleby's through a full scholarship. Roxanne looked over to him and saw a look of sadness on his face - as if he knew they were laughing at him.

Roxanne felt guilty.

'What's wrong?' asked Emma, sensing her discomfort.

'Oh, nothing guys. Just thinking,' she lied.

'Emma, by the way, that's what people do when they have a brain,' said Phoebe.


	4. Chess and Mario Bros

Artemis was quite happy to return home. Not only because he could talk to Holly, but surprisingly he was looking forward to talking to Ismene as well.

He never used to want to talk to girls his age. He never longed for the presence of Minerva, that's for sure.

And weren't Minerva and Ismene basically the same? Both of them were child genii of his age. But they were different.

'Hey Artemis,' said Ismene.

'Hello,' replied Artemis. 'Who's that?' he asked, looking at a boy he had never seen before.

The boy looked as if he was around 15 or 16 years old, with messy auburn hair. He had the same eyes as Ismene, and looked around 10 to 15 cm taller than Artemis - which was quite tall.

'I'm her brother,' said the boy. 'Benjamin Ashford.'

'Unfortunately,' added Ismene.

Artemis nodded.

'He arrived late because he had an important rugby game back in America,' explained Ismene.

'I see,' said Artemis.

'And we won!' said Ben, pumping his fists. Artemis highly doubted he was of a similar intelligence level to his sister.

Ismene shook her head.

'You realise you're playing a game that revolves around kicking a ball around a field?' said Ismene.

'Not _kicking_, passing. Aren't you meant to be a genius?' asked Ben.

'Just because I have a _brain_ doesn't mean I'm a genius. Though, everyone looks like a genius compared to you, don't they?' said Ismene.

'You do realise that almost your entire life consists of studying things that will have almost no use in the future?' said Ben.

'Antimatter could be the main energy source for humans in the future!' shouted Ismene.

'I've never even heard of it!' said Ben.

'That's because you're an idiot!' said Ismene.

Artemis didn't quite know how to break up sibling fights - seeing as Eve and Zoe were far too young to fight with him. It was amusing, in a way. But Artemis didn't dare laugh - Ismene and Ben looked rather serious.

'I swear you're adopted,' said Ismene.

'That's true,' said Ben. 'You're nowhere near as good-looking as I am,' he said jokingly.

'Are you two always like this?' asked Artemis.

'Unfortunately,' said Ismene.

'I'm going upstairs,' said Ben, climbing the spiralling staircase skywards.

Artemis sat down on the couch opposite the one Ismene was sitting on.

'Care for a game of chess?' asked Artemis.

'Sure,' said Ismene. Ismene then realised the checkered pattern on the table was a chess board. Artemis pressed a button on the side of the table and the pieces appeared.

'Classy,' she commented.

'Thank you,' said Artemis. 'Would you like to be black or white?'

'I don't mind,' said Ismene.

'Well you can be white,' said Artemis. 'Ladies first.'

Ismene moved one of her central pawns, freeing up her queen and surrounding bishops.

'Good move,' commented Artemis, making the same move.

They both created strong starting positions, with many different layers of defense. Generally meaning that if you attacked one piece, there would always be another piece to return the favour.

'You're good,' commented Artemis.

'You too,' said Ismene, looking for a flaw in his defenses.

They both thought for a second. Ismene was playing with the pieces while thinking. Inadvertently, Artemis reached for the same piece that she did, clasping her hand in his.

'Sorry,' said Artemis, drawing back his hand quickly.

'It's ok,' said Ismene, moving her bishop.

1 ½ hours later…

'Checkmate,' said Artemis, smiling.

Ismene looked at the board, and sighed.

'Good job,' she said, standing up. Artemis stood up as well.

'Thanks for the game,' said Artemis, holding out his hand for her to shake. She took it.

At that moment, Ben came in and thumped Ismene on the back causing her to fall forward - into Artemis.

Artemis was surprised to find he caught her before she fell - a few years ago, he could not even catch a ball.

'Sorry,' said Ben. 'My arm twitched.'

Ismene regained her balance and dusted herself off.

'Yeah right,' she said to Ben. 'Thanks Artemis.'

'No problem,' replied Artemis.

'Ben, you are so childish,' said Ismene.

'Ismene, you are _so_ boring,' said Ben.

She scowled at him.

'Can I plug this in anywhere?' asked Ben, holding up a Wii.

'There's a TV over there,' pointed Artemis.

'Verse you in Mario Brothers?' Ben asked Ismene.

'Verse isn't a word!' said Ismene, but followed him to the TV all the same.

Artemis decided to follow.

Ben plugged in a few cords into the TV, turned it on and changed the channel to the input channel.

'Got it!' he said, as images of Mario and Luigi ran across the screen.

Ben launched himself onto the beanbag and Ismene sat on the couch, legs crossed.

'Bring it on,' she said, as they started to fight.

As Ismene was waving her controller around and mashing the buttons madly, she looked for all the world like a normal teenage girl. Artemis himself never had a real idea of what being a teenager was all about - but then he didn't have any normal siblings, unlike Ismene.

Trying to pull a particularly difficult move, Ismene went too far and the controller flew out of her hand. And hit Artemis on the head.

'Ouch,' said Artemis, as he rubbed the spot where it hit him. The controller had been travelling quite fast, and left a large red mark.

'Sorry!' said Ismene, running over to Artemis.

'Are you alright?' she asked, placing a hand on his forehead where the controller had hit him.

Artemis Fowl was not used to physical contact, and so was quite shocked when she did so.

'I'm alright,' he said, after a few seconds.

'For a genius, you sure are quite an idiot,' commented Ben.

'Go and get some ice, you idiot!' said Ismene.

'Whatever, Miss Queen of the World,' said Ben, going to the fridge to get some ice. As an ordinary teenage boy, he knew exactly where the closest fridge was at any one time.

'I'm so sorry,' said Ismene.

'It's alright,' said Artemis, for the second time. Artemis did not usually repeat himself.

'Ice,' said Ben, chucking the ice pack at Ismene. She caught it with one hand and placed it on Artemis' forehead.

It was only then that she realised they were rather close. She stepped back.

'Didn't know controllers could fly,' said Artemis.

Ismene laughed.

'I can make them do _anything_,' joked Ismene.

'You like video games, don't you?' said Artemis.

'I rather enjoy them,' said Ismene.

Artemis decided to do the unexpected, for once.

'Will you teach me how to play?' asked Artemis.

'You've _never_ played a video game before?' asked Ismene incredulously.

Artemis shook his head.

'You poor deprived child!' she said, pushing a controller into his hand.

'Easy,' said Artemis. 'You're a menace with those controllers. I don't need another bruise,' he said.

'Alright, alright,' said Ismene.

'We'll start with Mario Brothers…' she said, and with that, Artemis learnt how to play video games - a thing he had never done before.

He didn't know genii could be so fun. But then again, Ismene was one of a kind.


	5. It'll Be Alright

Roxanne had a bad feeling that morning. She sensed something bad was about to happen, but she didn't know why.

And she was right.

She met Phoebe, Emma and Jane in their usual meeting spot outside in the quad, and walked with them to class.

When she reached the corridor, she saw something that made her jaw drop.

Jake was kissing another girl.

'Jake?' asked Roxanne, trying to convince herself it wasn't Jake, when she knew it really was.

Jake looked up and sighed.

'Jake, what's going on?' asked Roxanne.

'Come on, don't tell me you haven't worked it out yet?' he said.

Roxanne didn't answer.

'You're in year 8. I'm in year 10. Do you think I would _really_ be so in love with some little year 8 girl?' he said.

'You absolute-' said Phoebe, followed by a series of profanities.

'I'll get you!' said Emma.

'You'll be sorry you ever met me,' said Jane.

Roxanne was glad her friends were so protective of her, but right now what she needed was a hug, not for them to be insulting Jake.

She willed the tears not to leak out as she stood back from the shouting match. The girl who was kissing Jake seemed rather amused.

x.x.x

Artemis was watching the drama being played out in the corridor.

He remembered his conversation with Holly this morning, and realised he could put her advice to work. If he dared, that is.

'_Holly?'_

'_Artemis? Great to hear from you again!'_

'_I'm going to school again tomorrow…' _

'_And? What's that nervous tone of voice? I've never heard you talk in that tone before! Don't tell me you're nervous about going back to school, or I'll come up there to see who the impostor is!'_

'_It's not that, it's just… after meeting you, I mean…'_

'_Go on.'_

'_I guess I need some friends.'_

'_Did you seriously just say that?'_

'_Yes.'_

'_Well then I'll give you some advice, seeing as you're an amateur.'_

'_I made friends with you, didn't I?' asked Artemis, horrified at the prospect at being an amateur at anything._

'_After kidnapping me,' she said sarcastically. 'Anyway, the first thing you should do is to care. If someone seems down, try and cheer them up.'_

'_How?'_

'_Just say something like -'It's ok,' or 'It'll be alright.' They're simple. Just 2 or 3 words can make a big difference, Artemis.'_

Artemis took a deep breath. It was a perfect situation. Roxanne was upset. Her friends were distracted. She needed cheering up. He wanted to make a difference.

Roxanne felt an arm on her shoulder.

'It'll be alright,' said a voice. She looked up to see who it was. It was none other than her music partner, Artemis Fowl. She smiled at him - not a usual happy smile, a kind of depressed, half smile.

But any smile is better than nothing.

Artemis withdrew his hand quickly, and walked away, He cursed himself for getting involved. Little did he know exactly what he had given Roxanne.

x.x.x

Roxanne stepped forward, indicating for her friends to stop.

'Guess what Jake?' she said. 'I don't need you either.'

She slapped him across the cheek and walked off - not a ghost of a tear on her face. Jake was stunned, as were her friends as the followed her as she walked away.

'Good on you,' said Phoebe.

'You got him that time,' said Jane.

But Roxanne was too distracted to listen. All she could think about was Artemis Fowl, and how through 3 simple words he'd given her the strength to stand up to Jake. She thanked him in her head.

x.x.x

Oddly, as Roxanne was going to sleep that night, her thoughts were not of Jake. She only thought about Jake briefly throughout the day, however, Artemis Fowl seemed to keep on popping up in her mind, however much she willed herself not to think about him.

What had possessed him , a _genius_, to come up and comfort her? Why did he do it? And the biggest question - why was it such a source of courage and hope for her?

She fell asleep with the thoughts circling around in her head.


	6. Piano Practice

Saturday came, and Roxanne was waiting outside the front entrance at 10 o' clock. As promised, a car pulled up and Artemis emerged.

'Are you ready?' he asked.

'Sure,' said Roxanne, hopping into the car. Artemis came in after her and closed the door. She felt slightly nervous when the car doors locked, but she guessed it was just a safety feature.

There was silence for a few minutes as they drove away from the school.

'Thanks,' said Roxanne, finally.

'What for?' asked Artemis.

'Telling me it would be alright the other day,' she said. 'You don't know what it meant.'

Artemis paused. Holly hadn't told him what to say should the time come someone thanked him for his support.

'You're welcome,' he said, the typical answer to a thank you question.

There were another few minutes of silence, and before either of them could try and make conversation again, the car stopped.

Roxanne took a deep breath. Fowl Manor was MASSIVE. Was it such a good idea to come?

Artemis opened the door and stepped out, Roxanne following. The driver turned out to be a tall, bulky man that Roxanne assumed was Artemis' father.

'Do come in,' he said, motioning for Roxanne to follow him. She did so.

There were many security devices at the door. Artemis put his finger on a keypad, then it scanned his eye, he typed in a password and said

'Swift morale.' (By the way, this is an anagram of Artemis' name, if you were wondering about the odd password.)

The door opened, and the two of them stepped inside. The man who was the driver seemed to have disappeared.

As she walked in, Roxanne saw another girl sitting on the couch.

'Sorry,' said Artemis, to the girl.

'No matter,' said the girl. For some reason, Roxanne felt disappointed and rather irritated at the sight of the girl, though she didn't know why.

'Where's the piano?' she asked, diverting Artemis' attention away from the other girl.

'Upstairs,' he said, pointing to a staircase.

As soon as they were out of the earshot of the mystery girl, Roxanne whispered to Artemis,

'Who's that? Is she your sister?'

'She's a guest,' said Artemis.

'Oh, ok,' said Roxanne.

They reached the piano room and Roxanne sat at the piano seat, testing out the piano with Liszt's La Campanella.

Artemis was gobsmacked. He was convinced Roxanne was one of the ditsy popular girls that was unfortunate enough to be partnered with him rather than their jock boyfriends. He thought she was completely musically ignorant. Yet she played the piece with incredible expertise, her fingers tickling the keys and producing fine music.

'Nice piano,' she told him. 'It's got a nice bright tone,' she said, turning to him, 'and the keys respond to the slightest touch. Reminds me of my own,' she said.

'You play piano?' he asked.

'Of course!' said Roxanne. 'What do you think? I'm completely musically ignorant?'

'Evidently not,' he said.

'Oh, I'm quite a good actor aren't I?' said Roxanne.

'What do you mean?' asked Artemis.

'I even fooled the great Artemis Fowl,' she said, laughing slightly. 'Did you think I was just a ditsy popular girl?' she asked him.

'Actually, no,' he said. 'You seem different when removed from your friends,' he said.

Roxanne laughed.

'You are quite observant,' she said. 'But then again, you are a genius.'

Artemis didn't know how to reply.

'I'm not as stupid as I make out to be,' she said. 'Just put it that way. Now help me with this assignment, won't you?' she asked, patting the space of seat next to her. Artemis sat down.

'Play something,' she told him, standing up to give him space. The most annoying thing for piano players is to have people disturbing them when they are playing.

Artemis started to play a Chopin waltz he had learnt the other day. Roxanne listened carefully, her musical talents coming into play. When Artemis finished, she clapped demurely, hitting half of one hand against the other.

'You're good,' she said.

'Thank you,' said Artemis. She sat down next to him and pushed her hair away from her face.

'Now, to the assignment…' she said. 'We'll do a piano duet, I assume?' she asked. Artemis nodded.

'Well then… play something. You can compose, can't you?' asked Roxanne.

Artemis thought of all the aspects of his favourite composer's music - Mozart, Bach and Beethoven. He tried to incorporate Bach's amazing polyphonic textural music, Mozart's light heartedness and Beethoven's drama all into one as he played an impromptu song on the piano.

It didn't turn out quite the way he wanted it to.

'You're thinking it over too much,' said Roxanne. 'Just let it flow. Play whatever comes to mind,' she told him.

Artemis never used to do 'whatever comes to mind', but ever since the time tunnel he had changed slightly. He put more trust in his feelings, however, he was still learning, while Roxanne had trusted her feelings for a lifetime.

He tried to play again.

Roxanne stood up. She put a hand to his lower back; Artemis was shocked. No one had touched him in a long time. He even thought he felt a half-blush forming on his face. _You're imagining things_, he assured himself.

'Relax,' she told him, feeling the tenseness in his body.

She put her hands on his shoulders.

'They're incredibly tense,' said Roxanne. 'Relax.'

Artemis couldn't, really. Everything about him had to be structured.

'Stop for a moment,' said Roxanne. She sat back down at the chair and pushed him arm slightly. It didn't move.

'Even your arm is tense!' she said.

'I play better like this,' said Artemis.

'No you don't,' said Roxanne. 'You've never played with your heart, have you?'

'I don't see the need,' said Artemis.

'I'll teach you,' said Roxanne. 'But first you need to relax,' she told him.

'Stand up,' she told him. Artemis stood up and she sat in the middle of the seat.

'See how my shoulders are relaxed?' she asked.

'Yes,' lied Artemis.

'No you don't,' said Roxanne. 'Go on, touch them,' she said.

Reluctantly, Artemis did so. There was none of the structure he had, instead her shoulders simply hung off her body.

Roxanne's heart skipped a beat. She assured herself it was only because Jake always used to put his arms protectively on her shoulders, and that it had nothing to do with Artemis.

'And my arm,' she said.

Artemis pushed it slightly and her arm moved.

'See?' she asked.

'I see,' said Artemis.

Roxanne stood up, facing Artemis.

'Now, I want you to pretend your arms are dead,' she said.

'My arms are dead?' questioned Artemis.

'Yep,' said Roxanne.

Artemis tried to pretend. One of the things he was not so good at.

Roxanne pushed his arm. It moved slightly.

'Better,' she said, 'but not perfect.'

'Here,' she said, taking his hand. She placed his arm over her own.

'Now put all the weight of your arm onto mine,' she told him.

Artemis was not used to physical contact. Especially not with girls. Especially not with girls _his _age. Nevertheless he transferred the weight onto her.

'Good! You're a fast learner,' she told him. 'That's the feeling you want when you're playing, alright?'

At that moment, the twins came running in.

'Arty!' said Eve, Zoe pulling on the older boy's jumper.

'What is it?' he asked.

'Mummy says Minerva's here!' said Zoe, giving a wide smile.

_How many girls did this boy know?_, thought Roxanne.

'Alright,' said Artemis. Zoe and Eve giggled, running off.

'Do you mind if we take a break?' he asked, turning to Roxanne.

'Not at all,' she said. 'I'm assuming these cute little ones are your sisters?' she asked.

'Yes,' said Artemis, with a ghost of a sigh.

'They have your eyes,' said Roxanne.

'Actually, they're my father's,' said Artemis.

'Ah, I see,' said Roxanne, smiling and following him downstairs.


	7. Enter Minerva

'Minerva!' said Artemis, approaching the girl that stood at the door. Roxanne gave her a once over - as Ismene did as well.

The girl called Minerva was around 14 years old, with a pretty face and blonde hair that bounced in tight ringlets.

The girl called Minerva kissed Artemis on each cheek, as he did so to her, though looking rather reluctant about it. Artemis did not kiss people on the cheek. Artemis did not publicly show affection.

She then leaned back and hugged him. Artemis patted her on the back with a rather hesitant hand.

'Good to see you again, Artemis,' she said, with a noticeable French accent.

'Good to see you too, Minerva,' replied Artemis.

Ben wolf whistled. Roxanne laughed. Artemis gave him a disapproving look, as did Minerva and Ismene.

'Glad to see another sane person in this household,' said Ben, to Roxanne. 'Who are you?'

'Oh, I'm a classmate of Artemis,' she replied. 'You?'

'I'm a guest. Benjamin Ashford. Nice to meet you.'

'Roxanne Fawkson.'

Minerva was looking rather angry.

'Come Artemis, let us talk,' she said, giving Roxanne and Ben a glare and taking Artemis by the hand.

'Gee, that girl has some problems,' said Ben, as Artemis and Minerva left.

'Maybe she just doesn't know how to have fun,' suggested Roxanne. Ben laughed.

'I'll bet she knows how to have fun _with Artemis_!' he said, laughing.

Ismene pretended to pick at her nails while secretly fuming.

'So is that Artemis' girlfriend?' asked Roxanne.

'You tell me,' replied Ben.

'I only met him a few days ago!' said Roxanne.

'Ditto,' said Ben.

'Obviously it's not his girlfriend,' snapped Ismene.

'Tell us, genius sister, why not?' asked Ben.

'Artemis didn't look _too_ happy to see her.'

'He kissed her on the _cheek, _Ismene,' said Ben.

'It's a French thing.'

'Sure it is.'

'Of course it is!'

'You just don't want that girl to be Artemis' girlfriend because you like him!'

'I do not!'

'Do too!'

'I most certainly DO NOT!'

'Do too!'

'We're friends.'

'ISMENE LOVES ARTEMIS!'

Artemis chose that moment to come walking in, slightly stunned by the statement Ben had made. Roxanne was giggling. Minerva was hanging on to Artemis' arm, glaring at all the others.

'What was that?' Artemis asked.

'My brother is being an ignoramus, as per usual,' stated Ismene. Ben stuck his tongue out at her.

Artemis raised his eyebrows.

There was silence for a few seconds.

'Artemis, who are these people?' asked Minerva, with her French accent slathered all over her words.

'They're some of my friends,' he said, not really answering Minerva's question.

'I'm Roxanne,' Roxanne offered.

'Ben,' said Ben.

'And you?' she asked Ismene.

Ismene opened her mouth to say something rude, but then something very peculiar happened.

Without warning, Holly appeared out of nowhere.


	8. She had almost DIED!

Artemis almost jumped in surprise. Almost. However, child genii don't jump in surprise.

Normal people, however, do.

Roxanne froze. Her brain suddenly came to a halt - as did the rest of her body. She wasn't even thinking straight enough to wonder why there was a small, green skinned girl in the room, with a helmet on her head and exceptionally long ears pointing out.

Ben was thinking, but was still stunned.

'What the-' he started, but didn't have time to end as his jaw dropped open at the same girl that had stunned Roxanne so badly.

Ismene was not surprised - she had always suspected there were other creatures apart from humans on the earth. There were many occurrences that could not be explained in any other way. Even so, she was surprised that one would simply show itself randomly as Holly had done.

Minerva also, had met the fairy folk was not unused to fairies appearing in her presence. The only thing that bugged her was the wide smile appearing quickly on Artemis' face as soon as Holly had turned up.

'You need to get out. NOW!' shouted Holly loudly. The smile was wiped off Artemis' face.

'What's happening?' asked Juliet, running down the stairs with Butler.

'Get out!' Holly shouted again, her tone becoming more panicky.

Minerva, Ben and Ismene ran out first. Ben didn't hesitate to follow his sister - he knew from past experience Ismene was almost always right. Artemis, Butler, Holly, Roxanne, Juliet, Zoe and Eve were left behind. The twins giggled, obviously thinking Holly was some sort of person in costume. Butler picked Zoe up, Juliet picked Eve up and they ran out of the house.

Roxanne was stunned to the point of not being able to move. Artemis needed to make sure she got out safely.

'Go!' said Holly, running for the front door herself.

'Come on!' said Artemis, grabbing Roxanne by the hand and running. He felt largely responsible for her, for an odd reason.

Roxanne was so stunned she could do nothing but follow Artemis and run.

Artemis went through the situation in his head while he was running. It would have to pretty serious for Holly to show herself among people who did not know anything of the fairy folk. It could be serious if more humans found out about the fairies, but the situation must have been more serious.

As they reached the field opposite Fowl Manor, there was a loud bang, followed by crashes and unidentifiable loud noises.

Butler looked back briefly and saw Fowl Manor going up in flames.

Holly pressed a button on her helmet, revealing a hole in the ground.

'Everyone in,' she said, as the shuttle door opened. Everyone hopped in; with the exception of Roxanne, who had to be pushed in by Artemis. It was a tight squeeze, but everyone managed to fit in. Holly jumped in herself and drove the shuttle downwards at amazing speeds.

'What's happening?' Artemis asked.

'Not the time, Artemis!' said Holly, appearing to be wrestling with the controls.

Roxanne was so tempted to ask what on earth was going on, who the green person was, why Artemis' house had been bombed, but she was in shock about how close she was to death. She could have died. They all could have died.

'Is everyone alright?' asked Butler. Zoe and Eve were crying, but the others seemed alright.

'Yeah,' said Ismene. She reprimanded herself after. 'Yeah,' wasn't a word, but then again, in extreme stress, no one can really talk properly.

'Roxanne?' asked Artemis, but Roxanne didn't answer. Artemis didn't expect her to.

The shuttle stopped with a shudder of the engines and the door opened. They were in Haven.

Butler shepherded everyone out with one hand while holding Zoe with the other. He was a multitalented man.

'We're going to Section 8?' asked Artemis. Holly nodded.

A black limo with tinted windows that only worked one way was waiting for them outside the shuttle port.

'Everyone in,' said Holly. Minerva, Ismene, Ben, Butler, Juliet, the twins and Artemis stepped inside. Roxanne followed them blindly, too much going on in her head to think of what was happening around her at the moment.

She had almost died. She had almost _died. _SHE HAD ALMOST DIED!

'Roxanne, are you alright?' asked Ben. She didn't answer.

She had almost died! And now they were underground, or something, or somewhere. With some inhuman creature that had just saved their lives.

But she had almost died!

'Holly, can you tell me what's happening?' asked Artemis, leaning forward to the front seat where Holly was sitting.

Holly nodded.

'Maybe we should explain to the others first?' asked Holly.

'Is she real?' Roxanne asked Artemis. Artemis nodded.

'I can guess,' said Ismene. 'You're another species of intelligent creatures on this earth, are you?' she asked.

'Have we got another genius on our hands?' asked Holly.

Artemis chuckled.

'I would say so.'

'What's going on?!' asked Roxanne. All she had done was gone to Artemis' house to do a music assignment, and now they were inside the earth with a non-human… thing.

'Roxanne, humans are not the only intelligent species on the planet,' explained Artemis. 'Long ago, we lived in harmony. However, humans took over and the fairies were forced to live in the earth rather than on it.'

'Fairies?' asked Roxanne. 'Are you crazy?' she asked.

'Artemis is not crazy,' said Minerva.

'It's a colloquial term that is used to express extreme surprise. Roxanne is not actually asking whether Artemis is crazy or not,' stated Ismene, glaring at Minerva.

'Geez,' said Roxanne. 'And so why did your house blow up?'

'Isn't that what we all want to know?' asked Juliet.

'I do not know,' said Artemis, turning to Holly.

'That's the question we need to find the answers to,' said Holly. The limo stopped and they arrived outside a cave.

'Not very impressive,' commented Minerva. 'I would have expected better.'

Holly ignored her. She found that whenever faced with Minerva, she got herself into a downward spiral of frustration and anger. Minerva was simply infuriating.

Holly pressed a button on her helmet - revealing the real headquarters of Section 8.

'That better?' she asked Minerva, walking inside, the others following behind.

As they walked down the brightly lit corridor, a voice came out of the speakers.

'Good to see you again, Artemis,' said Foaly. Artemis smiled.

'I suppose you can hear everything we're saying?' he asked.

'Too right,' said Foaly. 'Who are the new girls? Thought Minerva was the one,' said Foaly.

'There are more important matters to discuss, Foaly!' said Holly.

'Right, right.'


End file.
